In the last article in this series we mentioned that after the parliamentary elections on April 10, 2024, which preserved the existing level of confrontation between president and National Assembly, preparations began for a meeting between President Yoon Suk-yeol and opposition leader Lee Jae-myung. This is significant, as the leaders of the two blocs have not met since Yoon became president…

South Korea’s parliamentary elections have resulted in the presidential-parliamentary confrontation remaining alive until the end of Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidency. The Conservatives failed to deprive the Democrats of the majority in the parliament while the Democrats did not manage to increase this majority to 2/3 in order to impeach the president. Nevertheless, the situation is generally perceived as a defeat for the Conservatives, because until the end of his term, President Yoon will have to deal with the parliament existing in the logic of factional struggle…

One year ago, after ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol radically changed his focus and outlined a policy shift embracing Japanese partnership during a speech commemorating the 104th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule, this author began waiting to see how this important anniversary would play out this year. His premonitions did not fail him!

On February 10, 2024, the Lunar New Year holiday, Yoon Suk-yeol visited the Second Marine Corps Division in Gimpo, inspected the Cheonmoo multiple rocket launcher system, and urged troops to be prepared for any North Korean provocations. “If the enemy provokes, you have to sternly and overwhelmingly respond under the principle of ‘act first, report later’ to completely crush the enemy’s will.”…

According to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo is “universal, fair, and aimed at achieving common benefits.” It was emphasized that the meeting made it possible to institutionalize and strengthen a system of comprehensive cooperation between the three countries. The President of South Korea is confident that strengthening interaction with the United States and Japan will contribute to the growth of South Korea’s influence in the international arena and expects that in the future this format “will become a regional…

The author has devoted about ten articles to the activities of Park Sang-hak and his organization Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK), who was viewed as being quite dangerous. Recall that some of his alleged “merits” include attempting to send coronavirus-infected items to North Korea, for which he was criticized by other defectors, or launching drones with explosives from the PRC to blow up statues of Kim, which were supposed to be a justification for “humanitarian intervention.” In 2020, Park & Co.’s activities triggered an inter-Korean crisis…

The final article in this author’s series on the state visit by the leader of the DPRK to Russia will focus on its consequences for Russia’s relations with the Republic of Korea. After all, now we are already seeing the first political consequences of the strengthening of Moscow and Pyongyang. The DPRK’s leadership placed a high value on the visit, and as readers may remember, while he was still in Russia Kim Jong-un stated that “now the first priority for our country is our relations with the Russian Federation.” As the KNCA later reported…

The previous series of trials of the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ended with him indicating his readiness for trial; before that he had miraculously escaped arrest during the parliamentary vote. However, the prosecutor’s office began preparing a second arrest warrant as part of an investigation into the development of the Baekhyeon-dong neighborhood of Seongnam (as mayor) and the illegal transfer of funds to the DPRK (as governor of Gyeonggi).   We specifically covered the details…

The DPRK’s response to the upcoming exercises began long before the exercises started. From August 1-12, the North Korean leader visited a number of military factories.In particular, from August 3 to 5, Kim Jong-un visited factories producing multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) and engines for cruise missiles and drones.In addition, he familiarized himself with the production of launchers for tactical missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, as well as small arms production.Kim also visited the construction of a new factory for the production…

Ulchi Freedom Shield, a joint US-South Korean military exercise, was held on the Korean Peninsula from August 21 to 31, 2023. A press release from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that Ulchi Freedom Shield-2023 was created to be “a rigorous and realistic exercise to strengthen the alliance’s joint defense posture and response capabilities based on scenarios that reflect various security threats and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts.” Among other things, the exercise was developed to strengthen the army’s military readiness…

On Friday August 18^th President Biden of the USA, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida met at Camp David, Maryland in the USA, to talk about concrete steps ‘toward maintaining regional peace and stability” in the Indo- Pacific Region, according to a statement by Anthony Blinken, the American Secretary of State.  What they mean is that they discussed ways and means of weakening and attacking China and North Korea in every sphere, and related to that, discussed what to do about Russia and Ukrain…

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol paid an unexpected visit to Ukraine on July 15, 2023, following a three-day official visit to Poland that we previously discussed. Yoon has consistently indicated throughout his diplomatic tours in recent months that this is a strong indication of his support for Ukraine and his condemnation of Russia. Additionally, it shows Seoul’s significant interest in Kiev’s post-war reconstruction initiatives, which will necessitate huge cash investments. There was a hint of curiosity about the unexpected visit. On the eve of ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol’s…